American Canine Association

Breeds

Whippet


History

Developed hundreds of years ago by crossing the bloodlines of the Greyhound, Italian Greyhound and an unknown type of Terrier breed, the Whippet was born. This breed is known for being able to run as fast as 35 mph and for their hunting, sighting and agility abilities. Today, this breed is extremely popular in the United States.

Appearance

The Whippet is a medium sized breed with males and females measuring 18-22 inches in height and weighing 25-45 pounds in weight. This breed is built very tall, thin, and long. Their head is a small wedge shape that forms directly into their narrow muzzle with a scissor bite. Their two medium sized ears are triangular in shape and are folded against their head, known as "rose". Their two large eyes are oval in shape, generally a dark hazel to black in color. Their tail is long, thin and tapers to a point, generally held down and against their body, tucked under. Their nose is large and available in black, dark brown or blue. Their coat is a single layer, very close and tight to their skin, should always demonstrate a natural shine and is available in all colors and color combinations.

Temperament

The Whippet is a very gentle, loving, fragile, loyal and smart breed dog towards their family. Known for being extremely calm, quiet and to themselves within the home, the Whippet is the ideal breed for those with a calm household, either in an apartment or country living environment. This breed is a natural sighting and hunting breed; they are not recomended for homes with non canine pets, including cats, because they will hunt them down only within a matter of time. Potential owners need to know that even while out for a daily potty break, inside of a fenced yard, this breed is capable of killing small wild rodents. This is normal and natural behavior and is not aggression in your dog, but just the nature of the Whippet. This breed requires a calm, quiet and confident owner who can remain pack leader in a gentle way and only ever use positive reinforcement training methods. This breed can do well with children who are gentle. Older children are recommended. This breed does make a good watchdog for your home. This breed does well with other dogs, especially their own kind.

Grooming

This breed sheds daily. Daily brushing and bathing when needed.

Special Notes

Please note that this breed requires a properly fenced in yard or proper fitting harness and leash at all times while outdoors. Please fully educate yourself about the Whippet prior to adding one to your household to ensure you are able to make a life long physical and financial commitment to your new family member. This breed is prone to stomach issues and skin problems. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.

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